ARTICLES ABOUT FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT BY DATE - PAGE 4

NEW DELHI: In a rare move, a Pakistani firm has approached the Indian government to carry out wholesale trading of carpets that are imported into the market here. Pakistan-based 'Maham Nayyar and Sahar Nayyer' has sought approval of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board to do wholesale trading of imported finished carpets from Dubai and other countries in India. Sources said that the foreign direct investment (FDI) proposal of the company was considered in the FIPB meeting on December 16 last year and a decision regarding this was deferred in the absence of the security clearance by the Home Ministry . The company proposes to invest over Rs 55 lakhs for the business, they said.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to have more good news for global Indians — their non-repatriable investments could soon be treated on par with those by locals, free of any of the restrictions that otherwise apply to money that comes in from overseas. The measure is expected to help strengthen the government's plan to shore up flagging investment and boost the economy. The new framework may be announced soon, two government officials familiar with the matter said.

NEW DELHI: Foreign direct investment in pharmaceutical sector is back in the spotlight, with the finance ministry pitching for a review of the policy that was tightened for brownfield investments, or investments in existing Indian companies, following fears of large-scale takeover by multinational companies. "There is a need for revisiting the policy and having a thorough debate on merits of restrictions and their impact on the sector," said a ministry official. The development comes in the backdrop of discussions between the department of industrial policy and promotion and the finance ministry on switching to a composite cap, which includes all forms for foreign investments, for all sectors.

NEW DELHI: With an estimated $25 billion worth FDI in its kitty during 2014, the government is eyeing a quantum jump in the foreign capital hitting Indian shores in the new year as it hopes to reap the fruits of further opening up of defence, railways and insurance sectors among others. The ambitious 'Make in India' programme, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with much fanfare in 2014, is another big-ticket ride that the government expects the foreign investors to take to bring billions worth dollars of FDI into the country.

BENGALURU: Expressing confidence of passing the Insurance bill in the next session of Parliament, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu today said if there are any obstacles, government has other avenues to pass it as per the Constitution. "Insurance sector - why we are asking for this thing ( FDI ) is because we need investment, the investment is not sufficient which is available in India. There were certain concerns expressed by the opposition so we referred the bill to Select Committee and the committee made its recommendation, but unfortunately some of our opposition friends started blocking it in Rajya Sabha," Naidu said.

MUMBAI: Shares of Opto Circuits , a Bangalore-based medical device company, surged over 17 per cent in trade after the Union Cabinet approved 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment ( FDI ) in medical devices via automatic route.. The move is to make India self reliant in the area of medical devices. India depends largely on imported medical devices as of now. More than 60 per cent of medical devices are being imported at the moment. The foreign companies will be allowed to manufacture products in India and also takeover existing plants.

NEW DELHI: Seeking to move ahead on crucial reforms, the Cabinet on Wednesday approved the ordinance route for coal and insurance reforms. Frustrated by the opposition in its bid to get parliamentary approval for two crucial items of legislation, the government took up ordinances to raise the overseas investment limit in insurance and facilitate coal mine auctions. Government approved promulgation of an Ordinance to hike Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in the insurance sector to 49 per cent from 26 per cent, as the legislation could not be passed in the Parliament session that ended on Tuesday.

KOLKATA: Sistema Shyam Teleservices (SSTL) will soon apply once more to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for permission to hike foreign ownership in the company beyond 74 per cent, a top company executive told ET. An earlier proposal by the telecom service provider was rejected by the board. The company is "preparing a detailed response on various observations made by the FIPB, and will shortly urge the finance ministry to reconsider its proposal," this person said.

BEIJING: China has eased rules which will provide market access for foreign banks, in a move to further open up the domestic banking sector. The Chinese cabinet published the amended rules today which will no longer require a specific amount of operating funds to be transferred from the parent foreign bank to its newly-established Chinese branch. Previously, a foreign bank would have to unconditionally allocate at least 100 million yuan (around USD 16.4 million) or the same value in other freely-convertible currencies.

NEW DELHI: Permitting global e-commerce players like Amazon to do retail trading in the country will "finish" the domestic players like Flipkart, a senior government official said today. "... if you will allow B2C (business to consumer) today, the Amazons of the world will come over and Flipkart will get finish tomorrow," Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Secretary Amitabh Kant said at a Ficci function here. Citing example of China-based e-commerce player Alibaba , he said the sector is growing in the neighbouring country and they permit B2B model.